[Greens-Media] FW: Federal testing is a bad result

[Manderson, Roland]

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ACT GREENS MLA DEB FOSKEY MEDIA RELEASE
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25 July 2007

Federal testing is a bad result 

Deb Foskey, ACT Greens MLA, today questioned the ACT Minister for
Education's enthusiasm for the Commonwealth Government's national
testing for literacy and numeracy which begins next year.

"It is clear that in agreeing to these new tests - which will replace
the ACTAP tests currently conducted in years 3, 5, 7 and 9  - the
Minister is bowing to pressure from the Federal Minister, who is
increasingly tying state and territory education funding to outcomes
desired by the Commonwealth," said Dr Foskey.

"I thought I had better check the small print - but had to go no further
than yesterday's media release from Federal Education Minister Julie
Bishop."

"While ACT Minister Barr may welcome the funds that they will get in
complying with the national testing requirements, I would like him to
spell out to ACT school communities what else is involved."

"Ms Bishop's media release says that the Commonwealth will assist
students who fall below the benchmark with vouchers for out of school
private tuition. I would have thought that increasing the school's
capacity to provide more help for the students who need it most would
achieve better results."

"The ACT Government has signed up to a program which will reward, with
Commonwealth funding, schools that improve their literacy and numeracy
performance."

"Not all schools have the same capacity to do this. There is a
connection between students' social and economic backgrounds and their
literacy and numeracy proficiency that the government is choosing to
ignore."

"What's more, a recent study in the United States has found that, with
national standardised testing, schools teach to the middle in order to
meet their proficiency targets. This means the least able miss out
again."

 "How can we provide real support for the ACT schools that work with our
most socially and economically disadvantaged students?  Mr Barr should
be telling the ACT community his government will ensure schools that
work with these students will receive additional, well targeted ACT
funding; since they are unlikely to be getting many of the carrots the
Commonwealth is dangling" Dr Foskey said.


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Roland Manderson   Media Advisor
ACT   Greens    MLA  Deb  Foskey  
Legislative Assembly for the ACT 
ph(02)62050551      m 0412241379
==== www.act.greens.org.au ===== 
  
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